WASHINGTON — Nearly 97% of the U.S. military's active-duty force has gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccination.
But vaccine hesitancy remains an issue for thousands of troops who do not qualify for religious or medical exemptions.
Those who continue to refuse have found an ally in Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He has written a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin saying he has "grave concerns" about what he calls the "haphazardly implemented and politically motivated vaccine," which he says "must be immediately suspended or risk irrevocable damage to our national security."
Fellow Armed Services Committee member, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) says Inhofe is wrong.
"I disagree with Senator Inhofe on this," he said. " I think the vaccine mandate at the DOD is going to advance our readiness and keep us prepared to meet the challenges we could face any day.
Kaine points to the case of the Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Last year, during the initial wave of the pandemic, the ship saw more than 1,400 members of its crew test positive for the virus. One sailor died and the aircraft carrier was sidelined for 55 days.
"I mean, look at what happened last year in the early months of COVID, when COVID ran through the Roosevelt and essentially had that ship not in full commission doing its job for some period of time because of the degree of COVID exposure," said Kaine. "We have a vaccine that is proven to work. The higher the percentage of people vaccinated, the safer we'll all be"
Kaine continued: "I'm the Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, and I'll tell you this: vaccines improve readiness."
At least 16 U.S. service members are known to have sued to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccination order, arguing that the order "infringes upon the plaintiffs' Constitutional rights."
The Air Force deadline to be fully vaccinated is November 2.
The Navy and Marine Corps deadline is November 28, and the Army deadline is December 15.